Zimbabwe Elections: SADC summit postponed

                                                                                                  
Briefing journalists in Pretoria, the Minister said President Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team was still consulting to set a date for the summit, after the one in Maputo was called off on Thursday, at ZANU PF’s request.
After Thursday’s events SW Radio Africa was informed by a reliable source that the summit had been moved to Monday in Pretoria. But it has since emerged that Zuma will be tied up with other prior engagements and there is a possibility the summit will now be convened later in the week.
MDC-T lead negotiator Tendai Biti admitted on Thursday it would not be easy to agree on a roadmap for the elections, as efforts by GPA negotiators to reach an accord for the summit’s agenda appear to have stalled.
Priscillah Misihairambwi-Mushonga, writing on her Facebook page, suggested that talks to ensure the success of a free and fair election were not an easy task.
Sources told us that while Zuma remains committed to seeing the implementation of the reforms, that were agreed to by all parties, he faces stiff resistance from Mugabe and his ZANU PF party.
‘While ZANU PF thought they would railroad the country to elections without reforms because of the constitutional court ruling that ordered Mugabe to proclaim elections before July 31st, they found it tough to sell the idea to the facilitation team,’ a source said.
A source who was close to Thursday’s negotiations between Zuma’s team and the GPA negotiators told us the MDC formations were demanding that all reforms be implemented before the poll.
ZANU PF negotiators then sought a postponement of the SADC summit as they said they needed to consult with Mugabe before making any firm agreements. Mugabe, who had been outside the country, arrived back in Zimbabwe on Friday from his far-eastern trip.
UK based political analyst Sanderson Makombe said while ZANU PF was desperate to hold the elections without reforms, on the strength of the constitutional court ruling, the judgement has in fact created a quagmire for Mugabe.
‘If Mugabe decides to call for elections, he’s in danger of breaching certain laws of the new constitution. If he does not, he’s seen as not respecting the courts and I guess he might take this route as he has done it before on many occasions,’ Makombe said. - SW Radio Africa

Adapted from the zimbabwean

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why We Need Advocacy Journalism in Africa

Image
                                                                                                   Tweet When one mentions the term journalism, some wonder what that actually means. Is it the content that makes you a journalist? Is it your take on the contemporary issues that guarantees you to be referred to as ‘Journalist’? Well I refresh my mind back in 2006. By then I was in Form 2 in Machakos school, I bet it is still the best school in Eastern Province. The politics, constitutionalism and regional integration filled the air… as a young man of 16 years I could not make out what that actually meant for us, and by the ‘us’ I mean the so-called future leaders. Felix Kilonzo- Mku studios I dropped the idea of pursuing the Bio-Che...
Read more

Uhuru Kenyatta Cant Implement Land Reforms

Image
President Kenyatta Due to public demand, Felix Kilonzo will for the first time break the silence over the TJRC report that was released by the commission to unmask the historical injustices that has affected the country since 1963. Although my silence adversely comes about due to the report’s sensitivity and its tall orders and revisiting what I call the land reforms which I term as a mere joke of our time. The report in paragraph 199 says “During Kenyatta’s administration at independence and for several years thereafter, illegal dealings in land which left many individuals, families and communities landless and land-scarce took many forms.” The intro to the land alienation that existed after the independence that my grandparents fought for indiscriminately was confirmed that the 90% of Kenya is managed by 5% of Kenyans and not through transparent forms but through ill gotten wealth and abuse of office. The report says, “They [Kenyatta administration] included outright land...
Read more

Parties have hard options as parties in CORD have 1 day to go

Parties within the coalition on reforms and democracy and those affiliated to the Jubilee coalitions are expected to conduct the primaries on Thursday in compliance with the parties act. In the lower eastern province Wiper Democratic Movement allied politicians have intensified their own campaigns to woo party members to vote for them in the coming party nomination. In Machakos Town in Machakos County, the gubernatorial position has attracted 2 major candidates who are former government officials. Former Water Minister, Mutua Katuku will face it off with former government spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua in the wiper democratic movement. In the women representative MP, Maendeleo ya wanawake chairlady Mary Mutinga will face it off with a Machakos based medical doctor Dr. Susan Musyoka for the wiper ticket. Dr. Musyoka tried to vie for the Machakos Town constituency seat but came a distance 5 th and now she is set to battle it out with Mary Mutinga for the newly created Women represe...
Read more